Gramineae-Legumes-mixed cultivated grassland improves soil anti-erodibility of the steep loess slopes in semi-arid region.

Large-scale infrastructure construction has generated extensive areas of exposed steep slopes, seriously destabilizing loess steep slopes and exacerbating soil and water loss. Establishing effective ecological restoration strategies to enhance soil anti-erodibility on these exposed steep slopes represents a critical challenge in semi-arid environments. This study investigates the restoration benefit and anti-erodibility of Gramineae-Legumes mixed planting through spray-seeding techniques on artificial substrates, using natural slopes as controls. Results showed that the Gramineae-Legumes mixed grassland reduced the temperature and humidity of the steep slopes, but quickly reconstructed the area's vegetation, decreased the soil porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity, and increased the soil density and compactness. Compared with the natural slope, the soil anti-erodibility of sunny slopes and shady slopes increased by 31.29 % and 47.44 % after restoration, respectively. The spray-seeding of Gramineae-Legumes mixtures effectively improves soil structure and accelerates vegetation community reconstruction on loess steep slopes. This approach reduces soil pore connectivity and water permeability while enhancing anti-erodibility and ecological benefits, particularly in semi-arid environments. The integrated approach of spray-seeding Gramineae-Legumes mixtures combines vegetation restoration and slope stabilization technologies, demonstrating a dual-benefit solution for addressing geological safety and ecological sustainability in fragile semi-arid environment.